“Whiskey has my phone number,” I said. “You could have called.” Nickel stared down at the ground. “I don’t want him to know about this.” “Uh-oh,” Gertie said. “No,” Nickel protested. “It’s nothing like that. I would never ask you to do something wrong. I’m respectable now.” We all gave him the I-don’t-buy-it-for-a-second look. “Respectable for Sinful?” he suggested. Still silence. “Respectable for the Swamp Bar?” he tried. It was an acceptable compromise so we all nodded.
